Mother Dairy hikes milk prices in Delhi-NCR

Mother Dairy, the largest milk supplier in the Delhi-NCR region, has increased milk prices by Rs 2 per litre with effect from tomorrow due to rise in input cost.

Mother Dairy, the largest milk supplier in the Delhi-NCR region, has increased milk prices by Rs 2 per litre with effect from Wednesday due to rise in input cost.

The price of full cream milk has been raised to Rs 44 per litre from Rs 42 a litre, while that of toned milk to Rs 34 per litre from Rs 32 per litre.

The double-toned milk will now be available at Rs 30 per litre against the existing Rs 28 per litre and token (loose) milk will cost Rs 32 a litre from Wednesday from Rs 30.

In a statement, Mother Dairy said it is "compelled to take a hike in its milk prices for all its variants".

The company said that the rise in input costs has forced it to raise the consumer prices to ensure remunerative prices to farmers and sustained availability of milk.

"Cattle feed and fodder contributes the bulk (almost 75%) of the total cost of production of milk. Significant increase in the cattle feed & fodder and labour has led to the rise in overall cost of production," it explained.

Mother Dairy noted that close to 80% of the total sale proceeds goes into the procurement of milk. "With this the Company ensures sustainability of dairy farming by milk producers. This is probably one of the most efficient means of ensuring inclusive growth".

Increase in milk prices could have an impact on food as well as overall WPI inflation, which stood at 6.46% and 18.40%, respectively.

Mother Dairy sells about 30 lakh litres milk per day (both loose and poly-pack) in Delhi-NCR.

Besides Delhi-NCR, Mother Dairy is increasing the prices in cities like Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Pune and other places where its milk is sold. The company, however, did not gave the details.